Rising Stars India 2016 Winners

I work in the Model Development Team in Barclays, with an involvement in ten geographical locations and eight products for Africa. My work includes developing Business and Impairment Models. I have spent three years in the current role with one promotion. Furthermore, I act as Secretary to Africa Risk Technical Committee which approves models.

In parallel, I have been mentoring graduates in the team. I design and conduct a variety of training schemes for graduates and other members of the unit, ranging from technical to credit life cycle. I also run a RnR programme for the Unit and have conducted various employee engagement initiatives.

Prior to Barclays, I spent a year working in Merchandise Analytics at one of the biggest Retail Chains of US. I completed my Masters in Quantitative Economics from Indian Statistical Institute Delhi, where I led the Placement Committee. In school, I have been part of the student council for three years and served as the Head Girl. Along with this, I have been part of the school badminton team and volleyball team, representing my school in zonals. I was an active participant in debates and declamations across three languages - English, Hindi and French.

I am an award winning physiotherapist and a revolutionary edu-preneur, running a chain of holistic growth centres called Miraaya, which has gained national and international recognition in a short space of time. I have consistently been a rank holder in my school and college days and yet when I began my career - be it as a doctor, educator or entrepreneur - I realized no-one was asking me for my past mark sheets. Rather everyone who came to me was looking for a compassionate and passionate expert who could help them heal or become the best they could be. I realized that our education system was testing memory much more than learning. it was forcing children to be a part of the rat race - and the sad part of it all was that even if you win a rat race - at the end of it all, what are you? Still a rat! I felt education needed to become much more real, alive, fun, creative, experiential and exciting. The two words that I use abundantly in my teaching children or even counseling special children is 'I CAN' - and what a difference I have seen it making in the very course of life for all.

I hail from Chandigarh with an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Panjab University. I was selected to join the 2013 Future Leadership Development Programme (FLDP) at Barclays, where I serve as a Business Analyst. Early in life, I inherited my parents' humanitarian values and ethics, which I've practiced ever since. In December 2015, I led a 30-strong team, raising Rs. 2.75 Lakh for SOFOSH, a high-performing charity - to support low-cost foster and special education for abandoned kids aged up to six. Thereafter, Barclays named me Citizenship Ambassador, to help engage Barclays with Lila Poonawalla Foundation and NASSCOM Global Talent Track on initiatives to improve employability of disadvantaged students in Pune. Perturbed by growing farmer suicides in Maharashtra, I led a Barclays relief this August to donate Rs. 5 Lakh to affected families. My solace lies in channelizing funds direct to beneficiaries, a cause I commit my diligence and expertise to, and my pride stems from helping develop India's human potential. Philanthropy aside, I'm an avid painter and have had my work exhibited at city art galleries. When not teaching computers to village girls on weekends, I unwind over a movie, a Harry Potter book or Italian food.

At the age of 10, Geet was in a horrible car accident which left her paralysed. Unable to use her legs, she had to re-learn to live life. But, Geet chose to never give up. Just months after the accident, she returned to school, ran for Student Body President and won, participated in the school play, maintained a straight A grade point average, and participated in sports day activities, all while seated in a wheelchair. As a teenager, she even began teaching Indian dance to NRIs, like herself, in the US. Geet became the first person in the world to win a beauty pageant, while confined to a wheelchair, where all the other contestants were able-bodied. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in engineering and a juris doctorate in law. She worked for a leading law firm in the US. But 10 years ago, Geet left a promising career in the US to move to India to start The Orphanage Project, an NGO geared towards the betterment or slum children, at-risk-youth and underprivileged women. She also currently runs a motivational page on Facebook with over 1.6 million followers and aims to be India's First Wheelchair Actress.

I am the founder of Euphoria Edu World. I am the luckiest and proudest female entrepreneur, or rather a 'Mompreneur'. I have the support of my very strong and sweet family, comprising of two smart children and a very supportive husband. I belong to Delhi, but started and established my business from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a well-known city for business expansion. I believe that God gives everyone a motive and a passion to live the life happily. From my teenage years, I was passionate about working in the education sector to fulfil the huge gap between real life and school. My motive behind Euphoria Edu World, is to focus on continuous development in early child education to improve the quality education with all around growth, development and innovative solutions.

Euphoria Edu World is an initiative towards enhancing the learning and education processes with the sole objective of bringing a meaningful transformation to every human life by exploring the true potential of their brain. A lot of educational institutions and companies have focused on quality academics with co-curricular activities but only Euphoria Edu World have come up with the solutions for authentic, scientifically designed and age appropriate education pattern and motivational, creative or innovative educational solutions for quality education and business development.

Uniqueness is also highlighted by the applied concept of a beautiful blend of the rich culture and promising values of Indian heritage, with the modernized logistic thought-process and the way of education, so that anyone walking out of our institution stands beaming into the rough and arid environment of today's new world.

We do not embark on word of mouth alone - seeing and believing would be the proof of our efforts.

I was born and raised in a small town called Bhilai. My father was a Central Government Employee and mother a Housewife. I completed my Master's degree with a specialization in Finance from the State University of New York, Binghamton. After staying in the US for several years, I returned to India to be close to my family.

Currently I work as a risk professional in the investment banking domain and have worked extensively with Market Risk, Quantitative Finance and Front Office risk with various investment banks such as Barclays, Nomura and Deutsche Bank.

I am very passionate about what I do and eve became an GARP certified FRM ( Financial Risk Manager) this year, which is a globally recognized certification.

Spending several years in America has made me realize just how different the rights and empowerment of Indian women are. Gender diversity is very close to my heart and gender empowerment is especially important for a country like India, which is a typically a patriarchal society. Moreover, the very poor women ratio in Barclays, Pune led me to dedicate myself to this cause - to at least try and make things better around me. Since then, I have launched WiT ( Women in Technology) in Barclays Pune. I have also led WiN (Women's Initiative Network) and currently leading a HeForShe Campaign.

Shabia Walia has been a media professional for the past 24 years. She has performed various roles as a witer, creative director, producer and even as an author of a book called 'Mamma Mania'. Her venture, 'Tattva by Shabia Walia', was founded in 2014, with the sole intention of providing natural body products, free from harmful chemicals to one and all. Started with humble savings, tattva (now called 'Wild Earth') has grown to be a trusted and credible brand in less than two years. Apart from a business venture, 'Wild Earth' is also a socially conscious organisation which believes in giving back to society. A significant part of 'Wild Earth' proceeds go towards spreading smiles amongst the underpriviliged through her social initiative, 'The Bluebells Community'. Shabia is also a 'Rex Karmveer Chakra' awardee for her contributions in social work and inclusiveness of all sections of society. To know more about 'The Bluebells Community' and the work it does, visit https://wildearth.in/pages/the-bluebells-community.

Devhuti completed her Master's in Business Management and then went on to work in different capacities with various multinational organizations in India. With an experience ranging beyond 12 years in the Software/IT industry, she made her first entrepreneurial bootstrapped venture, www.Dhrohar.com, a successful e-commerce business. It is only fair to consider her the best in the business. It is through her hard work, commitment and sincerity, that she laid the founding stone of Dhrohar. Devhuti is an entrepreneur who juggles work and two beautiful kids smoothly and believes that prioritizing work is the key to success.

Dhrohar is a brand of contemporary handloom and handicraft products focused on providing apparel, accessories and home furnishings, inspired by the rich Indian heritage and legacies. The brand is focused on making natural fabric products popular and bridging the gap by providing stylized handloom products that goes well with current fashion trends.

Somewhere in between too-tall stilettos and pajama-like sweatpants, there's a middle ground full of comfortable clothes that are office-appropriate and actually wearable. That is the segment that Dhrohar captures. We want to experiment with handloom and see how this comfortable fabric can be used to the best of its potential.

I was born on 15th August 1976 in Delhi, to a family where social and moral values were always the priority. I completed my schooling at Manav Sthali School and was an above average student. I got married in 1998 into a family which was again one of the notable family known for charity works. With a park-facing house, it came to our notice that maids who worked in nearby areas left their young children unattended, exposing them to accidents and unhygienic conditions. It then struck my heart that I should do something for these children. I began Aasmaa Foundation in 2016, with my sister-in-laws and started a simple setup of school in park with just seven kids in February 2011. Soon our group expanded and we had to shift our day education centre to Haiderpur. Today, we have almost 84 children with us and we are also running a vocational centre and soon plan to begin a computer training centre.

Nandini Ashokumar has been a primary teacher since 2006 in P.S.B.B.S.S School Chennai, where she completed her schooling. As a teacher, she believes in continually updating and equipping herself to meet the demands and challenges of the modern era. A trainer of process drama workshops, she conducts workshops for teachers on various critical problem solving processes that are predominantly interactive with new technology and tools. With her passion in both theatre and teaching, she makes every classroom and workshop experience unique and inspires young minds to think creatively.

Her innovative teaching practices earned her the Best Teacher Award, South Zone 2008, EQFI. Recently she received a Certificate of Commendation from The Global Education Leadership Foundation (TGelF) as a finalist in the Primary Teacher category. As a GSP Coordinator she has visited a UK school as part of the exchange program.

Mrs. Nandini is also game for other activities. A cycling enthusiast, she has participated in several long distance (100 km) cycling races. She is also a passionate runner who has completed 17 half and four full marathons. She is the winner of 4X1200m women's relay and has won accolades in several interschool sports and dance competitions.

She is the Chapter Coordinator for the running club 'Chennai Runners Pillar Pacers (CRPP). She runs with the corporation school kids to channelize their energy and help them dream big. With her group members support, she has helped those affected during Chennai floods.

Being a mother of two lovely teenagers, this ebullient 38 year old youngster believes excellence is achieved by doing small things perfectly.

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